Niños con Valor E-Newsletter: Thursday, January 31, 2008

Greetings from Cochabamba!

To all of you who supported us in 2007 we want to thanks you SO MUCH! We are entering into 2008 full of hope and expectation.

As you can see in the photo above, summer vacations and Christmas was a fun one at our girls' home, Corazón del Pastor. In addition to a month of swimming lessons, our girls celebrated on Christmas Eve by acting out the Nativity and opening up their stockings. The next day, a group of our girls went out to a poorer community outside of the city and were able to share the same joy they felt the day before with the families there. We were able to work together with Carol Patiño and her family (Carol is the young girl with leukemia we are assisting) as well as the father of the dentist we use at CDP who owns a school supply store to bring 50 baskets of non-perishables and other supplies to the community. Carol's father initiated this project out of his own gratefulness for the outpouring of support he received on behalf of his daughter. A special thanks to our Cali girls, Elevation, Orkney Helping Hands, Vision 70-7 and the folks at Christ Church for making this Christmas a special one!

In the final week of January, after a long search, we found what will function as our foundation office space. It will also be a starting point for the next phase of our work with street girls. Here they will learn simple skills that will help them eventually reach economic independence. In addition, there will be space to host a couple volunteers. Below is a photo of the house where our offices will be located, and one of the young women who will benefit from the program we will be starting up shortly.

We are also excited to announce that we have 501(c)3 non-profit status in the US (which means our US donors will now receive a tax-deductible receipt for their donation) and are able to receive online donations. This also means that our long-awaited sponsorship program is now up and running. For more information please visit our updated website and look for next month's newsletter which will detail this exciting new opportunity.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers for the year ahead. We are going to be applying for grants specifically towards the opening of a daycare for children living with HIV/AIDS. We are also awaiting charity status in Canada that will open up even more possibilities.

Much Peace and Love,

The Staff and Volunteers of Niños con Valor, Cochabamba